By Mumini Abdulkareem
No fewer than thirty one (31) chairmanship candidates from registered political parties in Kwara State have so far been cleared by the state Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) to contest in the forthcoming November 18 local government polls, National Pilot gathered last night.
Deadline for the submission of nomination forms by parties in the state lapsed last Tuesday at 12 midnight as KWASIEC stood its ground against extension as pleaded by many of the political parties.
Some of the opposition parties alleged sabotage and complained of difficulty to make online payment after submission of nomination form. They accused KWSIEC of colluding with “interested parties” to reject some of their candidates for the election.
But, the commission through its chairman, Alhaji Uthman AbdurRahman Ajidagba, in a response letter our reporter was privy to, said it was constrained because of the extant laws and guidelines that regulate activities of the Kwara State local government electoral body, which has taken over its powers to entertain such requests.
The letter further referred political parties to section 21(1), 2013 as amended of the state electoral law, its guidelines and schedule of activities among others.
Of the forty six registered political parties in the state, only eleven (11) were able to collect nomination forms and thus participate in the forthcoming chairmanship and councillorship election.
The parties include All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord, PPA. APGA, ADP, LP, UPD, APA and ACD
It was gathered that while APC, PDP, AA, PPA, APGA will take part in both councillorship and chairmanship contest among others, Advance Congress of Democrat (ACD) Accord, United Progressives Party (UPP), ADP and APA among others will contest only for the councillorship seats.
Only APC fielded councilors for the 193 wards in the state with the PDP coming second with 136 among the parties that entered for the contest.
Although efforts to get the full list of all the candidates from KWASIEC since Friday proved abortive as the commission’s press secretary was evasive when National Pilot requested for it, it was learnt that the PDP only fielded 12 chairmanship candidates for the election.
Four of the party’s chairmanship candidate in Offa, Edu, Ifelodun, and Oyun could not beat the deadline for payment.
The list of the chairmanship candidates obtained exclusively by this medium last night include Lukman Abdulkadir (AA) for Offa, Ibrahim Wasiu Ayinde (PPA) from Magaji Are in Ilorin East who was described by the chairman of the party, Prince Olufemi Adeleke as a “very committed member of the party” believed to be testing the hypothesis of the not too young to run bill.
The APGA chairmanship candidate could not also be verified last night as the name was still being awaited from the North Central National Vice chairman, Engineer Sule Ajayi following inability to contact the party chair before the paper went to bed.
For the APC, it concluded list of its candidates following emergence of former chairman, Board of Town Planning from Ojomu North North West, Offa, Abdullateef Gbadamasi popular known as coach last week.
Others include convener of Kwara South Youth stakeholders from Isapa, Ekiti Local Government, Comrade Yinka Dallas; Alhaji Saidu Yaro Musa from Baruten; retired civil servant from federal ministry of Land, Abuja from Tsaragi II in Edu, Umar Sanda Yusuf; retired teacher from Tunga Aboki, Gbanabe II, Kaiama, Abdullahi Abubakar Bata and Alhaji Salihu Jibril Garbi from Patigi.
The list also included Fatai Adeniyi Garba from Oke-Ode III who had served as a two time councilor, supervisor; immediate past TIC. He is said to have the backing of one of the influential chieftains of APC, Kola Yusuf and described by a source as a politician and grassroots democrat; immediate former elected vice chairman in Ilorin West to Zulu Oloje from Oko-Erin, Hajia Aminat Aromoke Omodara; Engineer Mumini Lar, and Hajia Funmi Salau from Balogun Fulani III in Ilorin South who had served as former board member, COED, Ilorin and Director, Women Affairs, Mandate 2011 campaign and the only incumbent TIC chairman from the sixteen local government that got the APC ticket.
For Asa, former elected Vice chairman, Special Assistant on Women Affairs, ex party chairman of PDP and ACPN and former councilor, Hajia Riskat Opakunle from Aboto Odoode; former Speaker of Moro Local Government council, Mumini Eleyele; Muyiwa Oladipo (Kanu) for Irepodun; Oni Adebayo Joseph from Idofin Igbana 1 for Oke-Ero who was a two- time elected councilor and elected Vice Chair in 2010; Prince Festus Oladipupo Omole from Alla ward, Isin who was a former APP party chairman, supervisory councilor and treasurer of APC in Isin and Joshua Omokanye from Ipe, Oke Ogun constituency in Oyun popularly known as Jalala. He was a former council chair in 1992 in SDP, SA to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed on Special Duties
The PDP list for the party’s candidates for the election which was obtained at the party’s secretariat comprise of the following: Muslim Busari from Owode Onire constituency in Asa described as a former chairmanship aspirant based in Ibadan; Emmanuel Sule, Edu; Erinle Ayobami Victor, Ekiti; Ezekiel Adebayo Babatunde, Ifelodun; Umar Abubakar, Ilorin East; Zulu Gambari Zubair, Ilorin South; Musibaudeen Esinrogunjo from Adewole, Ilorin West who is a Kwara Polytechnic graduate and former Vice president of NANS; Adeniyi Gbenga, Offa; Alhaji Ademola Yusuf Abdullahi, Oyun and Tsadu Zakari Saba, Patigi.
Others are former councilor from Omu Aran II, Irepodun, Abdulazeez Yakub who had also served as an ex supervisory councilor, chairman and vice chairman of council respectively, former National Assembly members in Baruten, Ibrahim Jaafar Bio; Saidu Suleiman, Kaiama; Asonibare Nathaniel Wale, Oke-Ero; Ibitoye Tunde Michael, Isin and Alhaji Isiaka Ganiyu Alikinla, Moro.
